


my only wish (this year)

by DoctorFitzy (KittooningMalijah)



Series: Psych AU [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bus Kids - Freeform, Christmas, Fluff, Gen, ficmas 2k17, psych au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 21:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12943797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittooningMalijah/pseuds/DoctorFitzy
Summary: Two months into being undercover was when Grant realized he’d made a mistake. He’d proken one of the only rules he’d set for himself - he’d let himself get attached.





	my only wish (this year)

          He’d only helped on four cases, in the two months that he’d been consulting for the police and none of it felt real. For his entire life, Grant had always been very aware of his place in the universe. His roles consisted of being Christian’s punching bag, Thomas’ protector, the station’s psychic, the Clairvoyant's arsonist. With so many roles to fill, he could feasibly belong in almost any place - a Hydra operation, a police debrief, even a movie marathon if Fitzsimmons invited him over for an afternoon.

          One place he certainly  _didn’t_ belong was an office Christmas party.

          Somehow, Phil and Melinda had come to the conclusion that he was an integral part of the team. According to them, if he didn’t show up to the party, he wouldn’t get any more cases for a while - he thought he’d heard Phil say the word  _grounded_ , but his ears had been ringing, at that point, and he’s stopped really paying attention. His head had been spinning, too busy trying to process the fact that he was actually  _part_  of something.

          That was how he’d ended up down in the morgue, avoiding the actual party just above the basement break room. Technically, everyone upstairs was on duty, but with cookies and cocoa and Santa hats. Even Skye was supposed to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, but she’d slipped downstairs when he had, perching on the edge of the couch and listening to the exact same bickering he was being subjected to.

          “It  _isn’t_  a Christmas movie!”

          “It  _is so_  a-”

          “Don’t you dare say it! You know I don’t-”

          “-takes place  _during Christmas_ -”

          “-when it takes place! It-”

          “-are watching it!”

          “-Egypt for all I care! It doesn’t change the facts!”

          “Ugh,  _Fitz_!”

          “ _Die Hard_  isn’t a Christmas movie, Jemma!”

          Grant took a loud sip of his hot chocolate to break the silence that followed, glancing between the scientists for a moment before he actually spoke up. “Are we going to watch the explode-y Christmas movie or not?”

          “ _Yes_!”

          “ _No_!”

          He wasn’t at all surprised by their simultaneous response, letting a hint of a smile pull at his lips. After knowing them for only two months, he already knew that he wanted to be their friend. It was impossible, with the situation the way it was, he wasn’t stupid. There was just something he  _wanted_ , for  _himself_ , and it was far too dangerous to pursue. It hurt.

          Then again, maybe he was pretty stupid, considering all he’d been doing since he’d officially been invited along to the party. If anything, his fear had actually made him  _more_ affectionate to the band of kids who had, for some reason, adopted him as one of their own. His bank account could certainly support that information.

          “Okay, let’s just pick a movie later. I don’t know how much more  _Fitzsimmonsing_  I can take.”

          Grant nodded his agreement, still smiling while he pushed himself to his feet. They could be entertaining from time to time, but too much of their bickering at once was enough to drive anyone mad. He needed to find a way to change the subject and his softening heart had given him exactly the right solution. “We can kill time some other way. It’s Christmas, isn’t it? Let’s open presents.”

          The three pairs of eyes blinking at him made him pause. It wasn’t an unexpected reaction, but he was still a little uncomfortable - Secret Santa wasn’t really a thing with the rest of the party, and he wasn’t technically taking part in one, either, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get something for the people he’d started to care about.

          “Grant, Christmas isn’t for another three weeks.” Leo was the one to speak up, shaking his head with a frown. “I haven’t even started my shopping yet. None of us brought any gifts. We can’t open presents if there aren’t any here.”

          Quiet fell over them again, and he shrugged his shoulders before moving to grab his backpack from where he’d set it next to the couch. Not a single detective upstairs had questioned it, which made him wary of the force’s actual abilities, but he’d decided to keep that to himself. “I mean, I don’t have anything  _big_ , but I did pick some things up for you guys.”

          His words were met with more quiet while he dug the three small packages out of his bag, distributing them without a word. There had been more thought than he cared to admit put into each gift, and he was admittedly nervous for their reactions. He’d only known them for a few months. There was no reason for him to get them anything at all.

          It surprised him that Jemma was the first to tear open her gift, but he didn’t question it.  _Someone_  had to start things off. His nerves only seemed to heighten once the colorful wrapping was on the floor, and he stared at her while trying to read her expression. Her gift was a coloring book he’d seen while snooping around the museum gift shop, one that depicted the entire human body, with facts and information that he’d heard her rattle off more than once. At the very least, he wanted her to at least think it was  _funny_.

          The smile that appeared on her face made him sigh with relief, his shoulders sagging with it. “This is  _amazing_! These books have always interested me, but I haven’t had the chance to pick one up. Did you know they have one  _just_ about the brain? Leo,  _look_!”

           **(**   _the startled sound that  the scotsman made when an accurate illustration of the human respiratory system was pushed toward him was actually on the verge of being adorable, but grant was more concerned with the wary look on his face when he glanced down at his own wrapped gift_   **)**

          “Okay, me next!” Skye actually seemed enthusiastic while she tore into the paper around her gift. Truthfully, hers was the one he was the least worried about. In his experience, she was the easiest to please - he’d given her the last of his coffee, once, and she must have thanked him at least a dozen times, and she hadn’t even  _liked_  it. THen again, that could have been all of the caffeine. When her eyes lit up, he wasn’t shocked. A video game could make almost anyone happy, he supposed. “A plug and play? Grant Ward, you deserve like, a  _Nobel Prize_ for gift giving.”

          He knew that gift giving wasn’t a category when it came to the Nobel, but the thought was still nice. Pleasing two people with the gifts he chose wasn’t bad, but the longer Leo stared down at his own wrapped gift, the more nervous he became. It was a simple, little thing and, at the time, he’d been confident that it was the best gift he could possibly pick up, but now? Now, he just wanted it to be over with.

          After another beat of quiet, the Scot carefully peeled the bright paper away, openly frowning once he saw enough of it to determine what it was. The expression wasn’t promising, but Grant tired to stay optimistic. It was something he already had, and he knew that before he even picked it up. Ever since they’d met, Leo hadn’t gone a week without mentioning that his copy of his favorite monkey documentary was in less than ideal shape. It was a  _VHS tape_ , for one thing. So, when he’d seen the two disk DVD edition, he’d figured it wouldn’t be too miserable of a choice.

          But the air was still quiet, and he was quick to speak up just so that there would be  _noise_. “There’s behind the scenes stuff. And the second disk is like three hours of bonus footage, apparently. I saw it and thought of you.”

          Immediately, the confused frown turned into a grin, and the plastic around the DVD case was torn away. “ _Cool_.” He turned to face Jemma next to him, very plainly excited. “Let’s watch  _this_  for Christmas movie night!”

          “Ugh,  _Fitz_!”

          While they started bickering again, Grant let himself smile. Maybe no one else had brought gifts, and maybe the time would come when his operation was over and he’d never see them again, but, for at least one night, he had the best Christmas gift of all.


End file.
